Home network apparatus and system for cooperative work service and method thereof

ABSTRACT

A home network system and method for providing cooperative work services. The home network system has a plurality of devices connected to a network, a negotiator module connected to the devices for determining cooperative work service roles of the devices by applying device descriptions collected from the devices to a predetermined election algorithm so that the cooperative work service can be performed in consideration of a function of a corresponding device, and a coordinator module for directly performing a control command transmitted from a control device according to the cooperative work service roles determined by the negotiator module.

This application claims the priority of Korean Patent Application No.10-2003-0024504 filed on Apr. 17, 2003 in the Korean IntellectualProperty Office, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein byreference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a home network apparatus and system forcooperative work service and method thereof. More particularly, thepresent invention is directed to a home network device and system forcooperative work service and method thereof, which allow a number ofhome network devices having the same services to consistently providethese services through a process of cooperative work service on a homenetwork.

2. Description of the Related Art

In general, there has been proposed a home network in such a manner thata common virtual computing environment called middleware is establishedin a variety of home network devices present in an Internet Protocol(“IP”)-based private network and applications are provided in thecomputing environment according to services that can be provided throughthe respective home network devices.

The middleware allows a variety of digital devices to be connected toone another in a peer-to-peer fashion and to communicate with oneanother. Currently available middleware includes Home AVInteroperability (HAVI), Universal Plug and Play (UPnP), JavaIntelligent Network Infra-structure (Jini), LonWorks, and the like.

In a computing environment established through UPnP middleware, each ofthe devices uses an address that is assigned by a server through dynamichost configuration protocol (hereinafter, referred to as “DHCP”) orselected by an auto IP function. Each of the devices communicatestherebetween and performs the discovery/inquiry process on the networkby using its assigned address.

Therefore, the respective devices present in the home network arediscovered through protocol such as sampling stochastic dynamicprogramming (hereinafter, referred to as “SSDP”), and a control devicethat is called through a simple object access protocol (hereinafter,referred to as “SOAP”) is used in order to control the operation of thediscovered device.

FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically illustrating a related art controlstructure among devices.

As shown in the figure, the control structure includes a control point 9(hereinafter, referred to as “control device”) connected to the IP-basedhome network for controlling the home network devices operating on thenetwork, and a plurality of home network devices 3, 5 and 7(hereinafter, referred to as “controlled devices”) for providing theirown specific services onto the home network in response to a controlcommand transmitted from the control device 9.

A service 1 (hereinafter, referred to as “service platform”) exists ineach of the controlled devices 3, 5 and 7 and processes a controlcommand from the control device 9. The service platform 1 that exists ineach of the controlled devices 3, 5 and 7 may be identical to oneanother depending on the definition of the services provided by eachdevice.

That is, a plurality of service platforms 1 having the same servicefunction can exist on a network.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating a related art control process amongdevices.

As shown in the figure, when a controlled device 3 (hereinafter,referred to as a “first device”) newly connected to the network firststarts to operate (S1), a predetermined address is assigned to the firstdevice 3 using a technique such as DHCP, Auto IP, or the like (S2).

As the first device 3 to which a predetermined address has been assignedis added to the network in such a way, the discovery protocol, SSDP,informs the control device 9 and the other controlled devices 5 and 7(hereinafter, referred to as “second and third devices”, respectively)of the service provided by the first device 3 (S3).

At this time, the first device 3 multicasts a search message informingthe other devices of apparatuses and services held therein. Then, thecontrol device 9 detects the newly added first device 3 through themulticast message and confirms a device description through the URLprovided from the first device 3 in order to clearly catch hold of thefunction of the first device 3 (S4).

Further, in addition to the description step, a service step S5 isperformed. The service step is comprised of service advertisement,control, description, discovery, event, and service management. In thisservice step, the service provided to the network is advertised throughthe contents of the device description of the respective devices, whichis obtained in the description step. The control command is transmittedto a control URL of a relevant device, and thus, services requested bythe control device 9 are provided. Changed device information to betransmitted from a relevant device in this process is received in theform of an event message and then processed. A service managementprocess for performing the message transmission and reception and thedevice control according to the service step are also included.

The above processes are repeatedly performed until the service has beencompleted, and a release is transferred using the SSDP technique whenthe service has been completed.

In addition to the service step, the device description step continueswhile the respective devices are operated.

Finally, when the operation of the first device 3 is completed,information regarding service termination of the first device 3 istransferred to the control device 9 and the other controlled devices 5and 7, which are present in the home network (S6).

As home network technologies have gradually developed, a number ofdevices having the same services may be included in the home network orcooperate with one another to provide a specific service. Nevertheless,there is no system for coordination among the plurality of the sameservices in current middleware service definitions for the home network.

Therefore, if there are a number of the network resources capable ofproviding a display service in a home network, the display service maybe provided only by a predetermined specific device among a plurality ofdisplay devices in case of a related art home network environment.Further, it is difficult to easily set services provided by a pluralityof cooperating devices, e.g. an authentication service for a user ordevice, a scheduling service for the resources (devices, services,network resources, etc.) in the home network, and the like.

This is because a process for coordinating the services among theservice providing devices has not been performed. That is, the networkresources of the services present in the home network are notefficiently used.

The foregoing may further have adverse influence on home networktechnology as technology continues to develop. Therefore, when there area number of the same services or services provided by a plurality ofcooperating devices in the home network since a variety of devicesoperate simultaneously on the home network, there is still a need forremoving service inconsistency among the devices and sharing functionsand roles with the service providing devices so that services can beconsistently provided.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, the present invention is conceived to solve the aboveproblems. It is a main object of the present invention to provide aservice, a device structure, and a cooperative work service model foroperating the service and structure so as to provide consistentservices.

It is another object of the present invention to efficiently define andimplement cooperative work service through the cooperative work servicemodel.

To ensure that consistency in a plurality of services can be maintained,the present invention provides a cooperative work service managementapparatus, comprising a negotiator module for determining a cooperativework service role of each device connected to a network by usingdescriptions collected from the devices, and a coordinator module orsupporter module, which are selectively activated according to thecooperative work service role determined by the negotiator module.

As such, the home network management apparatus allows the cooperativework service thereof to be either a coordinator for directly performinga control command transmitted from a control device or controlling thecontrol command to be performed through the other devices, a supporterbelonging to the cooperative work service, or a supporter for performingthe control command transmitted from the other devices or thecoordinator, according to the cooperative work service role determinedby the negotiator module or in the manufacture process based on servicedefinition.

In the present invention, the cooperative work service is assumed in acase where a plurality of services having the same functions accordingto their service definitions exist on the network. That is, thecooperative work service means a service that is defined so that aplurality of services can be implemented into and operated as a virtualsingle service.

According to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention forachieving the objects discussed above, there is provided a cooperativework service management apparatus, comprising a negotiator module fordetermining cooperative work service roles of devices connected to anetwork through a predetermined election algorithm so that a cooperativework service can be performed among the devices by using descriptionscollected from the devices, and a coordinator module for directlyperforming a control command transmitted from a control device presentin the network or transmitting the control command to the other devicesso as to control the operations of the devices.

According to another aspect of the present invention for achieving theabove-discussed objects, there is provided a cooperative work servicemanagement apparatus, comprising a negotiator module for determiningwhether a service providing unit, which performs a specific servicewithin a device to which the negotiator module belongs according to acontrol command transmitted from a control device, should be activated,so that a cooperative work service among devices can be performed byusing descriptions collected from the devices connected to a network.

According to a further aspect of the present invention, there isprovided a home network apparatus for cooperative work service, whereinit is connected to a cooperative work service management apparatus whichcomprises a negotiator module for determining cooperative work serviceroles of devices connected to a network through a predetermined electionalgorithm so that a cooperative work service can be performed among thedevices by using descriptions collected from the devices, and acoordinator module for directly performing a control command transmittedfrom a control device present in the network or transmitting the controlcommand to the other devices so as to control the operations of thedevices.

According to a still further aspect of the present invention, there isprovided a home network apparatus, comprising a service providing unitconnected to a network for providing a predetermined service, and anegotiator module for determining whether the service providing unitwithin a device to which the negotiator module belongs should beactivated so that a cooperative work service among devices can beperformed through device descriptions collected from the devicesconnected to the network.

According to a still further aspect of the present invention, there isprovided a home network system for cooperative work service, comprisinga plurality of devices connected to a network, a negotiator moduleconnected to the devices for determining cooperative work service rolesof the devices by applying device descriptions collected from thedevices to a predetermined election algorithm so that the cooperativework service can be performed in consideration of a function of acorresponding device, and a coordinator module for directly performing acontrol command transmitted from a control device according to thecooperative work service roles determined by the negotiator module.

According to a still further aspect of the present invention, there isprovided a home network system, comprising a plurality of devicesconnected to a network, a service providing unit connected to each ofthe devices for providing a predetermined service, and a negotiatormodule for determining whether the service providing unit within adevice to which the negotiator module belongs should be activated sothat a cooperative work service among the devices can be performedthrough device descriptions collected from the devices connected to thenetwork.

According to a still further aspect of the present invention, there isprovided a cooperative work service method, comprising the steps ofcausing a cooperative work service to inform the other cooperative workservices connected to a network of its own presence and to exchangeservice descriptions with the cooperative work services having the sameservice functions, determining a role of the cooperative work service byusing the provided service descriptions and a predetermined electionalgorithm, and selectively executing a coordinator module or a supportermodule according to the determined role.

According to a still further aspect of the present invention, there isprovided a cooperative work service method, comprising the steps ofcausing a cooperative work service to inform the other cooperative workservices connected to a network of its own presence and to exchangeservice descriptions with the services having the same servicefunctions, determining a role of the cooperative work service by usingthe provided service descriptions and a predetermined electionalgorithm, and executing or terminating the relevant service accordingto the determined role.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other objects, features and advantages of the presentinvention will be apparent from the following description of preferredembodiments of the invention in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically illustrating a conventional controlstructure among devices;

FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating a conventional control process amongdevices;

FIG. 3 is a diagram schematically illustrating the structure of acooperative work service platform according to an embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart schematically illustrating a keep Role electionalgorithm according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 schematically shows a template added to a description forsupporting the cooperative work service according to an embodiment ofthe present invention;

FIGS. 6 a to 6 e are diagrams schematically illustrating the structuresof the cooperative work service platforms according to an embodiment ofthe present invention;

FIG. 7 is a diagram schematically illustrating the configuration of ahome network system according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating a process for controlling devicesusing the cooperative work service according to an embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 9 is a flowchart specifically illustrating the process of step S510in FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 schematically shows a process of executing a cooperative workservice discovery protocol according to an embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 11 is a flowchart specifically illustrating the process of stepS520 in FIG. 8;

FIG. 12 schematically shows a control protocol process according to anembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 13 is a flowchart specifically illustrating the process of stepS530 in FIG. 8;

FIG. 14 is a diagram schematically illustrating an event protocolprocess according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIGS. 15 a to 15 f are diagrams schematically illustrating the devicecontrol structures for executing the cooperative work services accordingto an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 16 is a diagram schematically illustrating the structure of anauxiliary cooperative work service platform according to anotherembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 17 is a diagram schematically illustrating the configuration of ahome network system according to another embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 18 is a flowchart illustrating a device control process accordingto another embodiment of the present invention; and

FIGS. 19 a and 19 b are diagrams schematically illustrating the devicecontrol structures for executing the auxiliary cooperative work servicesaccording to another embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The configuration and operation of a cooperative work service managementapparatus according to the present invention will be hereinafterexplained with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 3 is a diagram schematically illustrating the structure of acooperative work service platform 10 according to an embodiment of thepresent invention.

As shown in FIG. 3, the cooperative work service platform 10 comprises anegotiator module 11 which determines a cooperative work service roleusing device descriptions and service description collected from devicesoperating on the network (hereinafter, referred to as “descriptions”)and a predetermined election algorithm, a supporter module 13 whichperforms the operation according to the cooperative work role determinedby the negotiator module 11, and a coordinator module 15 which directlyperforms a control command transmitted from a control device ortransmits a control command to the supporter module 13 to allow thetransmitted control command to be processed therein according to thecooperative work service role determined by the negotiator module 11.

Here, the supporter module 13 may be included in either a device towhich it belongs or any other device among the devices connected to thehome network.

The election algorithm is an algorithm written in a predeterminedprogramming language (e.g., C, C⁺⁺, visual C/C⁺⁺, Java, etc.), whichserves to coordinate the cooperative work service roles of thenegotiator modules in the devices that provide the same services, usingthe descriptions provided by the respective devices present in thenetwork.

The cooperative work service roles determined through the electionalgorithm are defined in the form of a coordinator implemented throughthe coordinator module 15, a supporter implemented through the supportermodule 13, a coordinator-supporter combo implemented through thecoordinator module 15 and the supporter module 13, or the like. Thecoordinator-supporter combo may be classified as either a type in whichthe modules for performing the roles of the coordinator and thesupporter are divided or an integral type in which the two modules areintegrated into one module.

The supporter module 13 or the coordinator module 15 of the cooperativework service platform provided in each of the devices is forked orkilled by the negotiator module 11 in accordance with the cooperativework service role, so as to perform the operation relevant to the role.

Such an election algorithm may be set according to service policy andcan be applied in various ways. For example, the election algorithm mayhave a basic target for causing all the cooperative work services tomaintain their own roles, determining the cooperative work service roleaccording to a predetermined cooperative work service level, determiningthe cooperative work service role according to a version of the samecooperative work service, or the like.

FIG. 4 schematically illustrates the process of the keep Role electionalgorithm according to an embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 4, whether the other cooperative work services exist isdetermined through a discovery-advertisement process wherein a devicenewly connected to the network informs the devices operating on thenetwork of its presence (S10).

If it is determined that there are no other cooperative work services, acooperative work service role of the newly added device is determined tobe a coordinator (S20). Otherwise, the service descriptions arecollected from all the same cooperative work services (S30).

Then, it is determined whether the newly added device was thecoordinator, according to the keep Role election algorithm, whendetermining its own cooperative work service role using the collectedservice descriptions (S40). As a result of the determination, if thedevice was the coordinator, the device operates as a coordinator (S20).Otherwise, the cooperative work service role is determined to be asupporter so that the device operates as a supporter (S50).

Further, if the cooperative work service role for each of the controlleddevices is determined by the election algorithm, the negotiator module11 sets the determined role into the description of a relevant device sothat cooperative work services among the devices that provide the sameservice can be made.

FIG. 5 schematically shows a template that is added to the descriptionto support the cooperative work service according to an embodiment ofthe present invention.

As shown in FIG. 5, a tag <role></role> is used to set a cooperativework service role, and a tag<ListenerURLForSupporter></ListenerURLForSupporter> is used to set theURL for transmitting an event message, which is generated in thesupporter module 13 according to the cooperative work service, to thecoordinator module 15.

The “role” is set to be optional in case of a device that providescooperative work service. That is, the “role” is set to be undefineduntil the cooperative work service role is determined after the deviceaccesses the network to begin its operation. If the cooperative workservice role has been determined, the “role” is set as a coordinator ora supporter, which is determined by the negotiator module.

Further, the negotiator module 11 controls the operation forforking/killing the coordinator module 15 or the supporter module 13according to the cooperative work service role determined by theelection algorithm, so that only a module corresponding to thecooperative work service role is activated. FIGS. 6 a to 6 eschematically illustrate the structures of these cooperative workservice platforms according to an embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in these figures, since the operation of the negotiator module11 is essential for use in the cooperative work service, a cooperativework service platform 10 for providing the cooperative work service as acoordinator is implemented to include the negotiator module 11 and thecoordinator module 15 (FIG. 6 a). The cooperative work service platform10 for providing the cooperative work service as a supporter may beimplemented to include the negotiator module 11 and the supporter module13 (FIG. 6 b). Further, the cooperative work service platform 10 forproviding the cooperative work service as a coordinator-supporter combomay be implemented to have a construction in which the supporter module13 and the coordinator module 15 are separated from each other (FIG. 6c), a construction in which a platform including the supporter module 13and a platform including the coordinator module 15 are separated (FIG. 6d), or a construction in which the supporter module 13 and thecoordinator module 15 are combined into a single module (FIG. 6 e).

For reference, in the aforementioned cooperative work service platformaccording to the present invention, all modules may be configured inhardware, some modules in software, or all modules in software.

Therefore, it will fall within a scope and spirit of the presentinvention that the cooperative work service platform according to thepresent invention is configured in hardware or software, and it willalso be apparent that various changes and modifications thereof can bemade thereto without departing from the scope and spirit of the presentinvention.

The configuration and operation of the cooperative work service systemusing the cooperative work service platform 10 according to the presentinvention so constructed will be described hereinafter in detail.

In the present invention, it is described that a home network systemcorresponding to a typical example of a local network is used and thehome network system is implemented through a home network environmentusing UPnP middleware. However, it is intended to be illustrative andnot restrictive. It will be easily understood by those skilled in theart that various modifications and equivalents can be made to themodules for allowing the cooperative work service to be performed amongthe devices, which provide the same services, in the home networkenvironment where the middleware of a dynamic mechanism such as JINI,HAVI, home wide web (HWW) and LonWorks as well as UPnP are used.

Furthermore, a cooperative work service management apparatus may beimplemented in separate hardware externally or internally connected tothe home network apparatus, or in software provided within or out of thehome network apparatus. Hereinafter, it will be explained that thecooperative work service platform having the software structure providedwithin the home network apparatus is employed in the home networksystem.

FIG. 7 schematically illustrates the configuration of the home networksystem according to an embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 7, a home network system comprises a plurality ofcontrolled devices 500, 700, 900, . . . , N00, each of which isconnected to the network and includes the cooperative work serviceplatform 10 for determining the cooperative work service role andperforming a relevant cooperative work service in accordance with thedetermined role so that consistency among the same cooperative workservices can be maintained, and a control device 300 for controlling theoperations of the controlled devices 500, 700, 900, . . . , N00.

The cooperative work service platform 10 included in each of thecontrolled devices 500, 700, 900, . . . , N00 is constructed asdescribed above (See FIG. 3). That is, the cooperative work service roleof each of the controlled device 500, 700, 900, . . . , N00 isdetermined by the negotiator module 11 of the cooperative work serviceplatform 10, and the supporter module 13 and/or the coordinator module15 are/is then activated in conformity with the determined role so as toprovide the service requested by the control device 300 through thedetermined cooperative work service role.

A cooperative work service method using the home network system forperforming such a cooperative work service according to the presentinvention will now be described in detail with reference to theaccompanying drawings.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating a device control process using thecooperative work service according to an embodiment of the presentinvention.

As shown in FIG. 8, if a new first device 500 is connected to thenetwork and starts to operate (S100), an addressing step for assigning apredetermined address to the first device 500 using DHCP technology,Auto IP, or the like, according to UPNP device architecture is performedand determining the IP address is first performed (S200).

Then, the first device 500 performs a discovery-advertisement step inwhich advertisement messages are multicast to the control device 300 andthe other devices 700, 900, . . . , N00 operating on the networkaccording to the discovery protocol, i.e. SSDP (S300).

In this process, the control device 300 that has received the multicastadvertisement message from the first device 500 registers the firstdevice 500 onto a controllable device list, in a case where it cancontrol the relevant first device. To more specifically catch hold ofthe function of the first device 500, the control device 300 alsoperforms a description step S400 of requesting and receiving thedescriptions.

At this time, since the first device 500 is in a state where thecooperative work service role thereof has not yet been determined, the“role” in the cooperative work service template added to thedescriptions is kept an undefined state.

The descriptions may comprise other logical devices and servicesincluded in the first device 500. The device descriptions are expressedin XML and include manufacturing information from the supplier (modelname, serial no., manufacturer name, manufacturer URL, etc.).

The descriptions can include lists of several embedded devices andservices as well as URLs related to control, events and presentations.

In addition to the description step, the control device 300 performs acooperative work service step S500 for coordinating the service roles ofthe newly added first device 500 and the controlled devices 700, 900, .. . , N00 operating on the network so as to be harmonized with thealready operating cooperative work services, controlling the operationof the supporter module 13 or the coordinator module 15 in thecooperative work service platform 10 according to the coordinated role,and performing the cooperative work service.

The cooperative work service step S500 comprises a negotiation step S510of causing the negotiator module 11 of the cooperative work serviceplatform 10 to collect the descriptions provided from the devicesoperating on the network and to determine the cooperative work servicerole of a relevant device, a coordination step S520 of activating thecoordinator module 15 in accordance with the role determined by thenegotiator module 11 to operate as a coordinator, and a support stepS530 of activating the supporter module 13 in accordance with the roledetermined by the negotiator module 11 to operate as a supporter.

Then, the first device 500 performs a termination step S600 ofcompleting the operation of the device control process on the network.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart specifically illustrating the negotiation stepS510 shown in FIG. 8.

As shown in FIG. 9, in the negotiation step S510, a cooperative workservice discovery step of discovering the cooperative work servicesalready operating on the network by using the cooperative work servicediscovery protocol is first performed (S511). A cooperative work servicerole determination step of causing the negotiator module 11 of the firstdevice 500 to confirm the controlled devices 700, 900, . . . , N00 thatprovide the same services and to coordinate the cooperative work serviceroles thereof through the election algorithm by using the descriptionsprovided from the controlled devices 700, 900, . . . , N00 is thenperformed (S512).

At this time, the cooperative work service role determination is madedepending on the functions of the cooperative work services to beprovided, and is specified as an election algorithm and policydetermination.

If all the controlled devices 700, 900, . . . , N00 participating in theprocess of the cooperative work service role determination perform thesame algorithm based on the same information, they can generate roleinformation on all the cooperative work services. If the electionalgorithms based on different information are used in the controlleddevices or the election algorithms are different from each other,however, each of the devices can determine its own role. In such a case,there is a need for another protocol that can confirm and detect thecooperative work service roles of the other devices.

After the cooperative work service roles of the controlled devices 700,900, . . . , N00 that provide the same services have been determinedthrough the cooperative work service role determination step S512, thenegotiator module 11 of each of the devices performs a module fork/killstep S513 of controlling the operation of the supporter module 13 orcoordinator module 15 by activating or inactivating the supporter module13 or coordinator module 15 according to the determined cooperative workservice role.

Next, the negotiator module 11 performs a cooperative work servicemanagement step S514 of determining whether a new controlled device thatprovides the same service is added and managing the cooperative workservices according to the determined cooperative work service roles.

In this negotiation step S510, the discovery protocol for discoveringthe cooperative work service already operating on the network multicastsa search message informing its own cooperative work service to therespective devices and exchanges descriptions with the other devices,which have the same cooperative work services and have received themulticast messages, in the same manner as the existing discoveryprotocols.

FIG. 10 schematically shows a process of executing the cooperative workservice discovery protocol according to an embodiment of the presentinvention, with priority given to the newly added first device 500.

As shown in FIG. 10, when the first device 500 is newly connected to thenetwork and then starts to operate, the cooperative work serviceplatform 10 of the first device 500 transmits a coordination serviceadvertisement message representing its own service to all the controlleddevices 700, 900, . . . , N00 operating on the network.

The coordination service advertisement message is multicast using theHyper Text Transfer Protocol (HTTP protocol), i.e. using an addressother than 239.255.255.250:1900 reserved by the SSDP or “NOTIFY withssdp:alive” according to the UPnP device architecture.

The controlled devices 700, 900, . . . , N00, which provide the samecooperative work services as the first device 500, among the devicesthat received the advertisement message, request the first device 500for profile information (i.e., device description) within a prescribedperiod of time (Ti) and then collect the profile inforamtion.

At this time, a profile request (Get service description, Http get)message and a response (Http response) message are transmitted/receivedto/from the controlled devices 700, 900, . . . , N00 that provide thesame cooperative work service as the first device 500, according to theHTTP protocol.

The negotiator modules 11 of the first device 500 and the controlleddevices 700, 900, . . . , N00 determine their own cooperative workservice roles through the election algorithm, by using the descriptionscollected in this process.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating the coordination step S520 in FIG.8.

As shown in FIG. 11, if the cooperative work service role of a device isdetermined as a coordinator by the negotiator module 11, the coordinatormodule 15 performs a service advertisement step of informing the otherdevices of its own determined cooperative work service. (S521)

Then, the coordinator module 15 performs a control process S522,description process S523, discovery process S524 and event process S525for processing the control command transmitted from the control device300, and also performs a supporter module monitoring process S526 forrecognizing and detecting a change in the state of the supporter module13.

The control process S522 includes the process of controlling theoperation of the supporter module 13 through the control protocol andproviding the service requested by the control device 300.

When the device operation of the coordinator module 15 is finishedduring all the processes S522, S523, S524, S525 and S526, a servicetermination step for completing the service operation is performed(S527).

Similar to the existing control protocols, the control protocol forcontrolling the operation of the supporter module 13 in such acoordination step S520 transmits an action message requesting apredetermined service from the coordinator module 15 to the supportermodule 13 according to the control command transmitted from the controldevice 300, and receives a response from the supporter module 13 thatreceived the action message.

FIG. 12 schematically shows a process for executing the control protocolaccording to an embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 12, in a case where the coordinator module 15, whichserves as a coordinator and executes the control command transmittedfrom the control device 300, intends to transmit the control command tothe supporter module 13 and intends to cause the supporter module 13 toprovide a relevant service, the coordinator module transmits a controlmessage (ACTION:REQUEST) requesting the relevant supporter module 13 fora predetermined service and then receives a response message(ACTION:RESPONSE), using SOAP according to UPnP device architecture.

These control and response messages can be transmitted/received usingthe URLs of the devices obtained in the initialization process and canbe expressed into XML using SOAP.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart specifically illustrating the support step S530in FIG. 8.

As shown in FIG. 13, if the cooperative work service role of a device isdetermined as a supporter by the negotiator module 11, the supportermodule 13 performs a service advertisement step of informing the otherdevices of its own determined service (S531).

Then, the supporter module 13 performs a control process S532 forexecuting the control command of the coordinator module 15 that causesthe supporter module to provide a specific service, and an event processS533 for advertising a change in the state of the supporter moduleaccording to the operation control of the coordinator module 15 to thecoordinator module 15 through the event protocol.

Thereafter, when the device operation of the supporter module 13 isfinished, the service termination step of completing the serviceoperation is performed (S534).

In particular, since the discovery, description, etc. that should beincluded in common UPNP devices are not performed in such a supportermodule 13, the supporter module 13 is not known to the control device300, but is known only to the coordinator module 15 based on operationsof the negotiator module 11.

Similar to the existing event protocols, the event protocol for causingthe supporter module 13 to inform the coordinator module 15 of modifiedinformation in the support step S530, transmits an event messageincluding the modified information from the supporter module 13 to thecoordinator module 15 and receives a response from the coordinatormodule 15 that received the event message.

FIG. 14 is a diagram schematically illustrating a process of executingthe event protocol according to an embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 14, in order to inform the coordinator module 15 of achange in the state of the supporter module 13 that provided thepredetermined service in response to the control command transmittedfrom the coordinator module 15, the supporter module transmits the eventmessage (NOTIFY) in an XML format which is formatted through generalevent notification architecture (GENA).

The coordinator module 15 receives the event message from the supportermodule 13 to process the received message into a description update itemfor the device to which the coordinator module 15 belongs, and transmitsthe response message (OK) using the HTTP protocol.

To perform the event processing protocol between the coordinator module15 and the supporter module 13, it is required that the supporter module13 know the URL of the coordinator module 15.

Accordingly, to allow the supporter module 13 to recognize the URL ofthe coordinator module 15, either a method by which the coordinatormodule 15 subscribes directly to the supporter module 13 at the initialprocess or at the time when the cooperative work service of a newsupporter role starts, or a method by which the supporter module 13refers to the description of the coordinator module 15, may be used.

Hereinafter, a cooperative work service method according to anembodiment of the present invention will be described in detail withreference to the accompanying drawings.

FIGS. 15 a to 15 f are diagrams schematically illustrating the devicecontrol structures for performing the cooperative work servicesaccording to the embodiments of the present invention, wherein thecooperative work service platforms 10 included in the devices areimplemented according to the embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 15 a shows the cooperative work service structure in which theservice is performed by a single coordinator-supporter combo. The firstdevice 500 newly added to the network informs the control device 300 andthe controlled devices 700, 900 and 1000 (hereinafter, referred to as“second, third and fourth devices”, respectively) already present in thenetwork, through the addressing and discovery-advertisement processes,that the first device 500 operates on the network.

In the addressing and discovery-advertisement processes, the negotiatormodule 11 of the first device 500 detects the second, third and fourthdevices 700, 900 and 1000 that provide the same services, and receivesthe descriptions from the respective devices to coordinate thecooperative work service roles among the devices.

In this process, if the newly added first device 500 performs theservice for the resources or information that can be exclusively used ascompared to the other devices 700, 900 and 1000, the negotiator module11 of the first device 500 selects the coordinator-supporter combo roleto perform all the services on the network through the first device 500.

Accordingly, the first device 500 performs both the coordinator andsupporter roles in the service provision process. In the cooperativework service platforms 10 of the other devices 700, 900 and 1000,however, only the negotiator modules 11 operate and both the coordinatormodules 15 and the supporter modules 13 do not operate in theinactivated state.

FIG. 15 b illustrates the cooperative work service structure in whichthe service is performed through one coordinator and one supporter.Unlike a single coordinator-supporter combo mode, the roles of thecoordinator and the supporter are separated so that the cooperative workservices can be provided through the individual devices 500 and 900.

That is, if the cooperative work service role of the first device 500 isdetermined as a coordinator and the cooperative work service role of thethird device 900 is determined as a supporter, the negotiator module 11of the first device 500 kills the supporter module 13 of the firstdevice 500 to be inactivated.

Accordingly, the cooperative work service is performed through thesupporter module 13 of the third device 900 controlled by thecoordinator module 15 of the first device 500.

FIG. 15 c illustrates the cooperative work service structure in whichthe service is performed through one coordinator and a plurality of thesupporters, wherein the plurality of supporters are controlled by theone coordinator.

That is, if the cooperative work service role of the first device 500 isdetermined as a coordinator-supporter combo and the cooperative workservice roles of the third and fourth devices 900 and 1000 aredetermined as a supporter, the negotiator module 11 of the first device500 operates (forks) the supporter module 13 to be activated. Further,the negotiator module 111 of the fourth device 1000 operates (forks) thesupporter module 13 of the coordinator/supporter module to be activated.

Accordingly, the service is provided through the supporter modules 13 ofthe first, third and fourth devices 500, 900 and 1000 controlled by thecoordinator module 15 of the first device 500.

FIG. 15 d illustrates the cooperative work service structure in whichthe service is performed through a plurality of thecoordinator-supporter combos. In such a case, all the controlled devices500, 700, 900 and 1000 that provide the same services on the networkperform both the coordinator and supporter roles.

It can be used when there is no need for exclusive use of a specificservice. The coordinator modules 15 in all the devices can control allthe other supporter modules 13 to provide the service.

Even in such a case, the resources may be managed by the supportermodules 13.

FIG. 15 e illustrates the cooperative work service structure in whichthe service is performed through a plurality of coordinators and aplurality of supporters. This structure has the highest degree offreedom in which there are no limitations on a function of theparticipation service.

The structure shown in FIG. 15 c can also provide the service in such amanner that the coordinator modules 15 of all the devices control allthe supporter modules 13.

FIG. 15 f illustrates the cooperative work service structure in whichthe service is performed through a plurality of independentcoordinator-supporter combos. This structure provides the service insuch a manner that all the devices 500, 700, 900 and 1000 that providethe same services on the network perform both the coordinator andsupporter roles, similar to the control structure in which the pluralityof coordinator-supporter combos are used.

In the structure shown in FIG. 15 f, however, the coordinator module 15of a device does not use the supporter modules 13 of the other devicesand can control only the supporter module 13 of its own.

The cooperative work service platforms so constructed according to thepresent invention may be additionally provided in the conventionalcontrolled devices that provide the predetermined services. The devicesthat provide the same services on the home network through theseparately provided cooperative work service platforms (hereinafter,referred to as “auxiliary cooperative work service platforms”) do nothave a structure that can guarantee the consistency in the serviceitself, but can guarantee the service consistency through the addedauxiliary cooperative work service platforms.

FIG. 16 is a diagram schematically illustrating the structure of theauxiliary cooperative work service platform according to anotherembodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 16, the auxiliary cooperative work service platform 10a includes a negotiator module 11 a for determining whether a serviceproviding unit (hereinafter, referred to as “service platform”) shouldbe activated, which performs the service within a device to which itbelongs according to the control command transmitted from the controldevice so that the cooperative work services can be made among thedevices by using the descriptions collected from the devices connectedto the network.

The service is provided through the service platform of the relevantdevice in accordance with the determination made by the negotiatormodule 11 a.

Hereinafter, the configuration and operation of the cooperative workservice system using the auxiliary cooperative work service platform 10a according to the present invention will be described.

FIG. 17 is a diagram schematically illustrating the device controlstructure according to an embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 17, the home network system includes a plurality ofcontrolled devices 500, 700, 900, . . . , N00 connected to the networkand a control device 300 for controlling the operations of thecontrolled devices 500, 700, 900, . . . , N00. Further, each of thecontrolled devices 500, 700, 900, . . . , N00 comprises an auxiliarycooperative work service platform 10 a for determining whether thecooperative work service should be activated and controlling theoperation of a service platform 20 according to the determination resultso that consistency can be maintained among the same cooperative workservices, and comprises the service platform 20 which is executedaccording to the control of the auxiliary cooperative work serviceplatform 10 a.

FIG. 18 is a flowchart illustrating a device control process accordingto an embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 18, the first device 500 newly connected to the networkinforms the control device 300 and the other controlled devices 700,900, . . . , N00 of its presence, through addressing step S1000 anddiscovery advertisement step S1100.

Then, control step S1200 of controlling the operation in response to thecontrol command transmitted from the control device 300 and descriptionstep S1300 of providing the descriptions requested by the control device300 are performed.

In addition to steps S1200 and S1300, service devices for performing anauxiliary cooperative work service among the devices that provide thesame services as that provided through the first device 500 added to thenetwork, are determined so that cooperative work service step S1400 ofproviding the cooperative work service is performed.

The assistant cooperative work service step S1400 comprises the stepS1410 of determining, through the negotiator module 11 a, whether theservice platform 20 should be activated. In negotiation step S1410, itis determined whether the service should be provided through the serviceplatform of a device to which the negotiator module 11 a belongs.

The negotiator module 11 a causes the service platform 20 to beactivated (or forked) or inactivated (or killed) according to the roledetermined through the negotiation step so as to control the operationof the auxiliary cooperative work service platform.

FIGS. 19 a and 19 b are diagrams schematically illustrating the devicecontrol structures for explaining the cooperative work service that isperformed according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 19 a shows the cooperative work service structure in which theservice is provided through one service platform 20.

That is, it is first determined whether the service platforms 20 of thefirst, second, third and fourth device 500, 700, 900 and 1000 areactivated. Then, if it is determined that the service should be providedthrough the service platform 20 of the fourth device 1000, thenegotiator modules 11 a of the first, second and third devices 500, 700and 900 stop (or kill) the operations of the relevant service platforms20 to be inactivated, whereas the negotiator module 11 a of the fourthdevice 1000 causes the relevant service platform 20 to be operated (orforked) and thus to be activated.

FIG. 19 b shows the cooperative work service structure in which theservice is provided through the plurality of service platforms.

According to the present invention, an advantage can be obtained in thatinconsistency among a plurality of the same services present in the homenetwork can be obviated by using the services, device structures andoperating methods of the present invention.

Further, the present invention has another advantage in that theservices provided through the home network device can be efficientlydefined, implemented and standardized by using the cooperative workservice model of the present invention.

Furthermore, the present invention has a further advantage in that itssystem development resources can be reduced and service can beefficiently utilized since it can be implemented in combination with theexisting home network environment.

Although the present invention has been described in connection with theembodiments of the present invention illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings, it is merely illustrative and is not limited thereto.Therefore, it will be understood by those skilled in the art thatvarious changes and equivalents thereof can be made thereto withoutdeparting from the scope and spirit of the present invention defined bythe claims. Accordingly, the true spirit and scope of the presentinvention should be construed as being defined by the appended claims.

1. A cooperative work service management apparatus comprising: anegotiator module for determining cooperative work service roles ofdevices connected to a network, through a predetermined electionalgorithm, so that a cooperative work service can be performed among thedevices by using descriptions collected from the devices, andcontrolling operations of the devices according to the determinedcooperative work service roles to process a control command transmittedfrom a control device connected to the network, wherein the cooperativework service comprises at least one function that is performed by atleast two of the devices each of which is configured to individuallyperform the at least one function, and wherein the at least two devicesprovide the same cooperative work service in the network, wherein thesame cooperative work service comprises same function that is allocatedto be performed by the at least two of the devices, each of which isconfigured to individually perform said same function and not asupplemental portion of said same function, and wherein the negotiatormodule comprises at least one hardware module.
 2. The cooperative workservice management apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein thenegotiator module allocates the cooperative work service to the devicesthat perform at least one same function required for the cooperativework service.
 3. The cooperative work service management apparatus asclaimed in claim 1, wherein the negotiator module coordinates among thedevices that provide same services using middleware service definitionsfor a home network.
 4. A cooperative work service management apparatus,comprising: a coordinator module for one of directly performing acontrol command transmitted from a control device present in a networkhaving devices connected thereto and transmitting the control command tothe devices so as to control operations of the devices performing atleast one same function where the at least one same function is requiredfor a cooperative work service, according to descriptions collected fromthe devices connected to the network and cooperative work service rolesdetermined through a predetermined algorithm, wherein the devicesprovide same cooperative work service in the network, wherein the samecooperative work service comprises same function that is allocated to beperformed by the at least two of the devices, each of which isconfigured to individually perform said same function and not asupplemental portion of said same function, and wherein the coordinatormodule comprises at least one hardware module.
 5. A cooperative workservice management apparatus, comprising: a supporter module forreceiving a control command of a control device, transmitted from acoordinator module present in a network to provide a servicecorresponding to the control command, according to descriptionscollected from devices connected to the network and cooperative workservice roles determined through a predetermined algorithm, wherein thedevices perform at least one same function where the at least one samefunction is required for the service and wherein the predeterminedalgorithm allocates the service with the at least one same functionamongst the devices to perform the at least one same function, andwherein the devices provide same cooperative work service in thenetwork, wherein the same cooperative work service comprises samefunction that is allocated to be performed by the at least two of thedevices, each of which is configured to individually perform said samefunction and not a supplemental portion of said same function, andwherein the supporter module comprises at least one hardware module. 6.A cooperative work service management apparatus, comprising: anegotiator module for determining cooperative work service roles ofdevices connected to a network through a predetermined electionalgorithm so that a cooperative work service can be performed among thedevices by using descriptions collected from the devices; and acoordinator module for one of directly performing a control commandtransmitted from a control device present in the network andtransmitting the control command to the devices, so as to control theoperations of the devices, wherein the devices provide same cooperativework service in the network, wherein the same cooperative work servicecomprises same function that is allocated to be performed by the atleast two of the devices, each of which is configured to individuallyperform said same function and not a supplemental portion of said samefunction, and wherein the negotiator module comprises at least onehardware module.
 7. The cooperative work service management apparatus asclaimed in claim 6, further comprising a supporter module for receivingthe control command transmitted from the coordinator module to provide aservice corresponding to the control command.
 8. The cooperative workservice management apparatus as claimed in claim 6, wherein if thecooperative work service roles are determined through the electionalgorithm, the negotiator module sets the determined cooperative workservice roles into a description of a relevant device so that thecooperative work service can be performed among the devices.
 9. Thecooperative work service management apparatus as claimed in claim 8,wherein the negotiator modules sets the determined cooperative workservice roles by activating one of the coordinator module or a supportmodule which receives the control command transmitted from thecoordinator module to provide a service corresponding to the controlcommand and deactivating the other module.
 10. The cooperative workservice management apparatus as claimed in claim 6, wherein the electionalgorithm is written in a predetermined programming language, whichserves to coordinate the cooperative work service roles of the devicesso that consistency in the same services can be maintained according toa function of service to be provided through the cooperative workservice by using the descriptions provided from the devices present inthe network.
 11. A home network apparatus for cooperative work service,wherein the home network apparatus is connected to a cooperative workservice management apparatus which comprises: a negotiator module fordetermining cooperative work service roles of devices connected to anetwork through a predetermined election algorithm so that a cooperativework service can be performed among the devices by using descriptionscollected from the devices, and a coordinator module for one of directlyperforming a control command transmitted from a control device presentin the network and transmitting the control command to the devices, soas to control the operations of the devices, wherein the cooperativework service comprises at least one function that is performed by atleast two of the devices each of which is configured to individuallyperform the at least one function, and wherein the devices provide samecooperative work service in the network, wherein the same cooperativework service comprises same function that is allocated to be performedby the at least two of the devices, each of which is configured toindividually perform said same function and not a supplemental portionof said same function, and wherein the negotiator module comprises atleast one hardware module.
 12. The home network apparatus as claimed inclaim 11, further comprising a supporter module for receiving thecontrol command transmitted from the coordinator module in order toprovide a service corresponding to the received control command.
 13. Thehome network apparatus as claimed in claim 11, wherein if thecooperative work service roles are determined through the electionalgorithm, the negotiator module sets the determined cooperative workservice roles into a device description of a relevant device so that thecooperative work service can be performed among the devices.
 14. Thehome network apparatus as claimed in claim 11, wherein the electionalgorithm is written in a predetermined programming language, whichserves to coordinate the cooperative work service roles of the devicesso that consistency in same services can be maintained according to afunction of a service to be provided through the cooperative workservice by using the descriptions provided from the devices present inthe network.
 15. A home network system for cooperative work service,comprising: a plurality of devices connected to a network; a negotiatormodule connected to the plurality of devices, for determiningcooperative work service roles of the plurality of devices by applyingdevice descriptions collected from the plurality of devices to apredetermined election algorithm so that the cooperative work servicecan be performed in consideration of a function of a correspondingdevice; and a coordinator module for directly performing a controlcommand transmitted from a control device according to the cooperativework service roles determined by the negotiator module, wherein theplurality of devices provide same cooperative work service in thenetwork, and wherein the same cooperative work service comprises samefunction that is allocated to be performed by the at least two of thedevices, each of which is configured to individually perform said samefunction and not a supplemental portion of said same function.
 16. Thehome network system as claimed in claim 15, further comprising asupporter module for performing the operations of the plurality ofdevices according to the cooperative work service roles determined bythe negotiator module, wherein the coordinator module transmits acontrol command to the supporter module and causes the supporter moduleto process the control command.
 17. The home network system as claimedin claim 15, further comprising a supporter module, wherein thesupporter module is provided in a device, to which the supporter modulebelongs, among the plurality of devices connected to the network. 18.The home network system as claimed in claim 15, further comprising asupporter module, wherein the supporter module is provided in a device,to which the supporter module does not belong, among the plurality ofdevices connected to the network.
 19. The home network system as claimedin claim 15, wherein if the cooperative work service roles aredetermined through the election algorithm, the negotiator module setsthe determined cooperative work service roles into the description of arelevant device so that the cooperative work service can be performedamong the plurality of devices.
 20. The home network system as claimedin claim 15, wherein the election algorithm is written in apredetermined programming language, which serves to coordinate thecooperative work service roles of the plurality of devices so thatconsistency in same services can be maintained according to a functionof a service to be provided through the cooperative work service byusing the descriptions provided from the plurality of devices present inthe network.
 21. The home network system as claimed in claim 15, whereinthe negotiator module is dedicated to determining cooperative workservices roles and is in a separate apparatus from the plurality ofdevices.
 22. A non-transitory recordable storage medium, comprising: anegotiator module for determining cooperative work service roles ofdevices connected to a network through a predetermined electionalgorithm so that a cooperative work service among the devices can beperformed by using descriptions collected from the devices; a supportermodule for performing operations of the devices according to thecooperative work service roles determined by the negotiator module; anda coordinator module for one of directly performing a control commandtransmitted from a control device and transmitting the control commandto the supporter module to process the control command, wherein thedevices provide same cooperative work service in the network, andwherein the same cooperative work service comprises same function thatis allocated to be performed by the at least two of the devices, each ofwhich is configured to individually perform said same function and not asupplemental portion of said same function.
 23. The non-transitoryrecordable storage medium as claimed in claim 22, wherein if thecooperative work service roles are determined through the electionalgorithm, the negotiator module sets the determined cooperative workservice roles into a description of a relevant device so that thecooperative work service can be performed among the devices.
 24. Thenon-transitory recordable storage medium as claimed in claim 22, whereinthe election algorithm is written in a predetermined programminglanguage, which serves to coordinate the cooperative work service rolesof the devices so that consistency in same services can be maintainedaccording to a function of a service to be provided through thecooperative work service by using the descriptions provided from thedevices present in the network.
 25. The non-transitory recordablestorage medium as claimed in claim 22, wherein if the supporter moduleis activated in a device, the coordinator module is deactivated in thedevice and vice versa.
 26. A cooperative work service method,comprising: causing a cooperative work service to inform othercooperative work services connected to a network having a plurality ofdevices of a presence of said cooperative work service and to exchangeservice descriptions with cooperative work services having the sameservice functions; determining a role of the cooperative work service byusing the provided service descriptions and a predetermined electionalgorithm; and selectively executing one of a coordinator module and asupporter module according to the determined role, wherein the pluralityof devices provide same cooperative work service in the network, andwherein the same cooperative work service comprises same function thatis allocated to be performed by the at least two of the devices, each ofwhich is configured to individually perform said same function and not asupplemental portion of said same function.
 27. The cooperative workservice method as claimed in claim 26, further comprising: causing thecoordinator module to request the supporter module connected to thenetwork for a service according to a control command sent by a controldevice and to receive a response from the supporter module; and causingthe supporter module to inform the coordinator module connected to thenetwork of an event message generated according to the control commandand to receive a response from the coordinator module.
 28. Thecooperative work service method as claimed in claim 26, wherein theelection algorithm is written in a predetermined programming language,which serves to coordinate cooperative work service roles of devices sothat consistency in the same services can be maintained according to afunction of a service to be provided through the cooperative workservice by using device descriptions provided from the devices presentin the network.
 29. The cooperative work service method as claimed inclaim 28, wherein a process of coordinating the cooperative work serviceroles of the devices comprises: determining, through adiscovery-advertisement process for informing other devices present inthe network of the presence of each device, whether other cooperativework services exist; determining a cooperative work service role of eachdevice as a coordinator if it is determined that there are no said othercooperative work services; and collecting the service descriptions fromthe same cooperative work services and determining whether thecooperative work service role of said each device was a coordinator ifit is determined that there are said other cooperative work services,and then, establishing the cooperative work service role as thecoordinator if the cooperative work service role was a coordinator, andestablishing the cooperative work service role as a supporter if thecooperative work service role was not a coordinator.
 30. The cooperativework service method as claimed in claim 29, wherein if the coordinatoris a device which performs same service as another device exists, theanother device is a supporter which executes one of processing a controlcommand transmitted from the coordinator device and resides on thenetwork providing services corresponding to the control command providedby the coordinator device.
 31. The cooperative work service method asclaimed in claim 28, wherein the determined cooperative work servicerole is a coordinator for one of directly receiving and performing acontrol command transmitted from a control device present in thenetwork, and transmitting a control command to other devices, to controlthe operations of the devices.
 32. The cooperative work service methodas claimed in claim 28, wherein the determined cooperative work servicerole is a supporter for one of processing a control command transmittedfrom a device which performs the coordinator role and resides on thenetwork and providing services corresponding to the control command. 33.A cooperative work service management apparatus, comprising: anegotiator module for determining whether a service providing unit,which performs a specific service within a device, to which thenegotiator module belongs, according to a control command obtained byusing a predetermined election algorithm transmitted from a controldevice, should be activated, so that a cooperative work service amongdevices can be performed by using descriptions collected from thedevices connected to a network, wherein the devices provide samecooperative work service in the network, wherein the same cooperativework service comprises same function that is allocated to be performedby the at least two of the devices, each of which is configured toindividually perform said same function and not a supplemental portionof said same function, and wherein the negotiator module comprises atleast one hardware module.
 34. A home network apparatus, comprising: aservice providing unit connected to a network for providing apredetermined service; and a negotiator module for determining whetherthe service providing unit within a device to which the negotiatormodule belongs should be activated according to a predetermined electionalgorithm, so that a cooperative work service among devices, performingat least one same function where the at least one same function isrequired for the cooperative work service, can be performed throughdevice descriptions collected from the devices connected to the network,wherein the devices provide same cooperative work service in thenetwork, wherein the same cooperative work service comprises samefunction that is allocated to be performed by the at least two of thedevices, each of which is configured to individually perform said samefunction and not a supplemental portion of said same function, andwherein the negotiator module comprises at least one hardware module.35. A home network system, comprising: a plurality of devices connectedto a network; a service providing unit connected to each of theplurality of devices, for providing a predetermined service; and anegotiator module for determining whether the service providing unitwithin a device to which the negotiator module belongs should beactivated according to a predetermined election algorithm, so that acooperative work service among the plurality of devices, performing atleast one same function where the at least one same function is requiredfor the cooperative work service, can be performed through devicedescriptions collected from the plurality of devices connected to thenetwork, wherein the plurality of devices provide same cooperative workservice in the network, and wherein the same cooperative work servicecomprises same function that is allocated to be performed by the atleast two of the devices, each of which is configured to individuallyperform said same function and not a supplemental portion of said samefunction.
 36. A cooperative work service method, comprising: causing acooperative work service to inform other cooperative work servicesconnected to a network having a plurality of devices of a presence ofsaid cooperative work service and to exchange service descriptions withat least one of the other cooperative work services having the sameservice functions; determining a role of the cooperative work service byusing the provided service descriptions and a predetermined electionalgorithm; and one of executing and terminating a relevant serviceaccording to the determined role, wherein the plurality of devicesprovide same cooperative work service in the network, and wherein thesame cooperative work service comprises same function that is allocatedto be performed by the at least two of the devices, each of which isconfigured to individually perform said same function and not asupplemental portion of said same function.